Equipment: Choosing and fitting a wind vane

During the summer of 2007, homeward bound from Shetland, I set the Cape Horn wind vane at the outlet of Lerwick just as we passed the Bressay Lighthouse, and disconnected the system close to Bergen at Marsteinen Lighthouse. With a few adjustments, we did not change or disconnect the Cape Horn for 20 hours or 90 nautical miles. Most of the time it blew steady 20 knots from the North, not really a reach – more like headwinds with eased of sheets.

My old autopilot could not have coped as easy with the wind and the rough sea. Truthfully it could not have coped at all. Besides I only have one battery for consumption. 20 hours constant use of autopilot in a seaway would have consumed all the battery juice available.

This trip don’t prove anything regarding wind vanes. However, most of the summer I sailed alone in Ryfylke. I often found my selves sailing in the fjords forcing my way through gales. The Cape Horn did the job better than any helmsman I ever shared a gale with. As everything is moving, the wind is howling and the seas are building, the Windex is steady as a rock. The angle “Salt” is approaching the wind is as a matter of fact so steady I had to check if the Windex was stuck.

The Cape Horn is following the shifting wind as fast as they approach. While the autopilot would have fought to keep the compass course and made the yacht list excessively in wind shifts, the Cape Horn just followed the wind shifts and kept the yacht going. Shorthanded this means that I could make tea, go to the bathroom or do navigating down below, while the winds come howling over the mountains and hitting the boat at new and unappreciated angels. I even made dinner while heading out a rather narrow fjord, just following the motions of the boat on the electronic charts on the computer, sticking my head out into the wind and rain looking out for other boats now and then. Easy going!

Why didn’t I fit a wind vane system 10 years ago? I lacked the money, everybody else swore by autopilots, and I didn’t know about a comparable system. The wind vane would have saved me from some very long hours at the tiller crossing the North Sea or going south by Jæ ren and crossing the Skagerrak into the Baltic’s. In retrospect it is rather annoying.

It’s hard to install a pendulum windvane system on Salt as she has a transom-hung-rudder. No matter what I do or system, I choose, I need an extended support frame – which will increase weight on the transom (exactly where I don’t want any extra burden). Besides, an extrusion outside of the rudder will make it vulnerable during harbour navigation.

I could have chosen a trimtab, mounted directly on to the rudder. However, most trimtabs I know about works as a servo system to generate enough push to move the rudder. It works – but I don’t want to permanently fix a trimtab to my rudder and even a very good trimtab does not have the power to steer as a pendulum system.

While the trimtab works in opposite direction of the rudder, the pendulum system works in the same direction as the rudder increasing the total rudder grip and thus makes the steering double efficient.

The force of the pendulum versus the trimtab is no contest – as the pendulum arm, and thus power to turn the rudder, is much longer than any trimtab – the pendulum is superior.

As “Salt” is heavy on the tiller when the going get’s tuff, a trimtab seems to be too weak. Furthermore, no old fashioned wind vane system with it’s own rudder fits the bill either. They are not strong enough without huge wind vanes and are left out-engineered by the modern servo-pendulum system. However, I don’t want the huge and heavy stern mounting needed to fix the Monitor or Aries systems to”Salt”s stern.

Only the Fleming and the Cape Horn systems seem like possible options. They are both elegant and slim – and they are both priceworthy – compared to the others.

A 50.000 kroner (4.000 dollar) autopilot with wind vane, gyro-compass and computerized learning ability is way out of the question. Now you know why it had to be the Cape Horn – it’s better, smarter, handsome, priceworthy, easy to install and drinks no battery juice.

Installing the wind vane

While most wind vane systems are bolted on to the transom, the Cape Horn system needs one large hole through the transom. Drilling a number of small holes are bad, making one large hole is not much better.

However, I was given a lightly used hole saw by the Cape Horn guys. We measured and measured over again to be sure we found the correct spot for drilling the first test hole. Drilling was aligned from the deck by using the boat hook as a ruler parallel to the middle of the boat, hanging over the counter. The drill in the center of the hole saw was substituted with a long steel rod. The idea of the substitute rod as to avoid making the pre-drilled hole larger and thus assist guiding the drill and the hole saw. The real challenge is that “Salt”s counter is rather rounded so that the first few minutes the hole saw only grips on one side of the center. As a matter of fact the finished opening is highly elliptic.

The actual drilling was done with my friend Odd aligning along the boat center i.e the boat hook from the top looking down, and my brother Morten from the dockside aligning the drill horizontal. I was in the rubber dingy sweating and swearing behind the electric drill.

I can’t think of any jobs I would want less than drilling holes in “Salt”. However, it worked out fine. With the drilling done, the worst was over – and the only possible thing to patch things up was to get the Cape Horn system in.

A little grinding and sanding of the through hull and the main tube of Cape Horn was in. The stainless steel had to be grinded to get the polyester fastener to grip. The tube is fitted with two “legs” in angles bolted to the inner hull by wood pads securely classed to the hull. It is a challenge to us with numb brains and ten thumbs to bolt the fasteners for the “legs” through the stainless steel tube. It would have been such a relief if Cape Horn had just come with movable fasteners circumventing the main tube. There is no reason but good looks inside the yacht, not to use circumventing fasteners. Instead I was forced to drill 4 aligned holes in the thick stainless steel tube. I must have broken five drills making those 4 holes. Yea – but it looks rather nice – I will give Cape Horn that.

With the main tube fitted and glassed at the through hull, the inner-tube and the wind vane tower could be fitted. In other words just easy mechanics. However, once more – the fasteners for the tower “legs” gave me the same problem as for the main tube. Why on earth can’t they be fitted with a well made collar circumventing the tower-tube? Somehow my nimble fingered brother found a way to fit the inner bolts for the fasteners. I believe it was done by using a string of electrical cord and a few doses of magic.

The tower “legs” had to be in angle to make it sturdy. Besides I want’ed the legs to be parallel to the sheer line of the deck to look as good as possible. By measuring at least seven times and cutting one, and by moving the tower to a workshop for drilling – it worked out fine. More magic if you ask me.

Rigging the wind vane ropes was no trick. All I needed to do was to bolt on four rope-blocks and make two holes in the side deck for the rope to get through. The rope is then led through another couple of blocs fitted on the pulpit by stainless stele fittings made for canvas and the connected to the tiller. The ropes for adjusting the vane is coming down along the tower tube, through two small blocs tackled on the tower “leg” fasteners, the through another pair of small blocks at the pulpit and then through one block (to make it endless) at the foremost part of the pulpit. Thus the vane is easily adjusted sitting in the cockpit.

It was all done in 3 or 4 afternoons thanks to my brother, my friend Odd and some welcome help for friend Torfinn. Without them I would probably be sorting out my ten thumbs and trying to fit things still.

Basicly there are 3 windvane systems – a system where you fix the main rudder and the windwane steers its own small rudder, where you use a trimtab to push or force the main rudder over, and the servo-pedulum system where the windvane gives the pendulum a signal to act, and where the pendulum generates force from the boat-speed through water to force the tiller over.

Flickr Photos

15 comments

I want to congratulate you first for making a very nice website! Secondly, I too am in the process of choosing a windvane, and for a few years I’ve been peeking at the Cape Horn. Just like you, I just can’t seem to find any hands on information of people using it, beside the quotes on the CapeHorn website. So, if I may ask you, how is it holding out? Are you satisfied with it? Does it perform as well as advertised? Is it really as easy to attach it to the boat, and do you think it is sturdy enough? Etc etc…
I you could answer some of my questions, I would be much obliged.

Hi Bhagat,
I could not find much hand on experiene either. I have come to the conclusion that the missing comments is good news. Most users just fitt it and use it. As long as it works one tends to take it for granted, and then there is nothing to comment.
Yes – it is holding out – so far. I have just had it for a year so I don’t have all that much experience. But it has been outside during a full year with winterstorms and all, and loooks as good as new. In my dock there are several yachts with Monitors and other Wind Vanes. None of them look too good. In fact they look rather dull, old and well worn. One of them is not much older than mine, but looks 10 years old.
Yes – the Cape Horn performs very well – better than expected up-wind and half wind, harder to use downwind. However, I don’t follow the recommendadions fully. The recomondation from Cape Horn is to make your boat as wind neutral as possible. Since I sail a few shorthand races I still want Salt to perform sparkling upwind. Consequently she is rigged with a rather hard stern logging mast. This makes the boat perform less good off-wind. You loose some, you win some.
Easy and easy – well, I don’t know if it was all that easy. however, I have five thumbs and bunch of carrots for hands. If you have all ten working fingers and are used to mess around in your yacht, I guess you will outperform me. The hard part was to drill the through-hull – the rest was straight forward glassfibering and fitting. However, I will recommend you to buy a large number of drills to get through the very sturdy stainless steel pipes. In fact I will recommend you to find a workshop to do the drilling. That will save you a lot of sore fingertips and broken drills.
Salt is an extreamly sturdy boat. The Cape Horn is perhaps the most sturdy rig on the whole yacht. Then I am even counting the 12 mm aft- and fore stay.

I hope this answers your questions. Just to make sure – I do not work for Cape Horn. I have no personal or othervise interest in the business of Cape Horn. However, I have met the two guys who’s making the Cape Horn and I personally liked them both and I would gladly recommend them and their products.

You will not believe it, but this is the first ime I’ve read your reply! I must have overlooked it then somehow. Anyway, thanks for your reply. Having had some costly repairs/alterations on my boat, I am now thinking again of buying a CapeHorn vane, especially now that the dollar/euro is favourable again. One of the questions I still have about this vane, is how one trims the vane itself from a safe position.
How is your’s holding out after a few years?

I’m not quite sure what you are asking about, however this is what I do:

When the vane is not in use the paddle is up and out of the water. When I want to use it I simply let the vane loose, and swing the paddle down by tightening one of the trim lines to the rudder. The paddle swings down and into the water – as soon as the paddle is in the water you can control the angle by turning the vane-arm (the arm controlled by the vind-vane) – thus to get the paddle straight in the Water. Then you turn the wind-vane to the position you want (slight pressure windward) – thigten the rudder-control lines to your steering and off you go.

Above seems like a lot, but in reality it is no work at all and absolutely logical.

How is it holding out? Well, the finish and workmanship is perfect. It still shines and work like new. However – two years ago a fellow racer hit the upper part of installation and broke it. I got a new one from Canada, but in transportation the turret (the top part where the wind vane is working) was damaged. Somehow I have not been able to get the Cape Horn to work perfectly after this. It works perfect on one side, but not the other and the wind vane it self is not as loose and smooth as it used to be. But it still works and looks good – I gues I just have to use some tlc (time, love and cash) to get the ting working properly.

Thanks for your reply. I’m sorry to read that your vane got damaged, I hope you can fix it. What meant was this ( from the manual )
“” The friction of a 5/32 or 3/16 in. (4 – 5 mm) endless line inside a groove at the base of the control disk rotates the revolving turret at the top of the windvane tower and allows to set a precise course from a remote position.

Two rollers guide this line down to blocks at deck level. Leading this endless line through blocks around the cockpit (along the coaming) allows to set the course from any position in the cockpit, even from below by reaching through the companionway.

Important : The turret is built to revolve freely; consequently, if this endless line is not used, rig at least a line down to the struts to create additional friction and maintain set course. Otherwise, the wind will cause turret to revolve by itself and course will vary.

If the turret becomes stiff and the line slips in the groove, put a rubber band in the bottom of the groove to increase friction.””

How did you set this up, and does it work well? To me this seems like something that is prone to slip and alter course?

Hi Bhagat,
nope – this is not a problem. The rope does not slip and the preassure on the turret is not that great.

The setup is a straight forward rope coming down from the tower/turret, into two small blocks where the “two stabelizing legs” are boltet on the tower- the ropes then follows the larboard leg to the lower of the two stancion ropes and all the way to number two stancion. Thus I can sit in the cockpit and regulate the vind-vane-angle. It works fine. I can even tack by using the ropes. However, normally I adjust the vane, padle and the rudder standing as far rear in the boat as possible adjusting the vane hands-on. This is faster and more accurate – particularly in my boat as the the whole thing is off center to the larboard of the rudder. Thus the angle is a little different from side to side.

I do trust all of the ideas you have offered in your post. They are really convincing and can certainly work. Still, the posts are too quick for newbies. May just you please prolong them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. I am considering the options in wind vane technology and it is very useful to have your well-considered opinion. In an Internet full of advertisements and half-truths, real writing by real people is hard to find. The photogaphy is clear and demonstrates the installation process well. As a mechanic I also appreciate your notes on how many drillbits you went through in working the stainless steel and your comments on the design of the tube. I would much rather go into the project knowing that I might need to access a workshop. Great information to have, thanks for taking the time to set up the website and answer questions.

If you ever come to San Francisco, please feel invited to sail the Bay on my 27′ Coronado.

Thank you Victor,
I am glad you liked it and found it useful. I have been living the last semester in Berkeley and sailed a little Knarr on the Bay. So – thanks for the invitation, but I am afraid I wont be back in the US for quite a while.

However, if you wan´t to check out the gear in Norway your are welcome to test out Salt.

Dear Espen, I am looking for the perfect oceangoing boat for next part of my life and have tried to check out the Kaskelot. Do you know any boat for sale or where to find more information about the boat? I would love to see the interior and to read more about experiences from the Kaskelot. Beautiful boat indeed! Happy for any contacts concerning this.
Birgitta, Stockholm